ENG vs IND: "We could’ve handled it differently…"- Morne Morkel's honest answer on why Kuldeep Yadav didn't play a single game in the England series

Kuldeep Yadav warmed the bench in all five games of the series.

India bowling coach Morne Morkel has revealed why the team did not pick Kuldeep Yadav in any of the matches during the ongoing test series between England and India. Yadav was the only frontline spinner in India’s squad for the series.

India utilised spin all-rounders Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja in the spin department and overlooked Kuldeep Yadav. Many cricket experts backed the wrist spinner to be included in the playing XI as they felt that he could’ve demolished England’s middle-order batters with his left-arm spin.

Yadav’s exclusion from The Oval test became a talking point after Joe Root (105) and Harry Brook (111) etched a wonderful 195-run partnership in the second innings. Both the batters smacked centuries on day four to drive England closer to victory.

We felt going in with the extra batter was important: Morne Morkel on Kuldeep Yadav’s absence

During the press conference after the end of day four, Morkel revealed that India felt an extra batter was more crucial in the playing XI. Hence, they did not pick Yadav in any game during the series. He also noted that Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja were capable of bowling longer spells.

“To be honest, that’s been part of our conversation before every match. Heading into the Tests, given the nature of the wickets and the overhead conditions in the early days, we felt going in with the extra batter was important,” he said as quoted by India Today.

“In the last couple of games, our fourth seamer didn’t bowl too many overs anyway, and with Washi and Jadeja both capable of bowling long spells, we leaned towards strengthening the batting. But yes, these are things we will reflect on at the end of the tour- the areas we could’ve handled differently,” he added.

Sundar has scalped seven wickets across four matches at an average of 38.57. Jadeja has taken seven wickets across five games. With the bat, Sundar has mustered 284 runs across eight innings, with one century and one half-century.

Jadeja has mustered 516 runs in 10 innings with a century and five half-centuries. In the ongoing fifth test, Jadeja and Sundar hammered half-centuries in the second innings to help India set a gigantic target of 374 runs for England.

Meanwhile, The Oval test has reached an interesting point with England needing 35 more runs for victory. However, they have only four wickets left, including injured Chris Woakes. At the stumps on day four, England reached 339/6 on the scoreboard.

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